Rhiannon Giddens’ Research Residency

Rhiannon Giddens is conducting primary source research for the first time using Carolina's special collections from Wilson Library. The artist is returning to her home state to investigate the socio-racial origins of the South as we know it today and share her findings with the University community and beyond.

About Rhiannon Giddens’ Research Residency

Rhiannon Giddens began her Southern Futures at CPA research residency in April of 2022 and visits campus several times a year. The artist will be in residence with CPA through Spring 2024. Rhiannon spends her time on campus conducting primary source research in the Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library, visiting classrooms, meeting with faculty thought partners, and learning from organizations across campus like the American Indian Center. This residency was designed to help Rhiannon to dig in the archives and dive into the history of this country, providing her time, resources, and support with no expectations of the outcome. This residency is the first of its kind at CPA and it is the first time that Rhiannon has conducted research using archival materials. Rhiannon has used her time in Chapel Hill to discover and share cultural artifacts and local histories to challenge entrenched narratives and monolithic thinking on topics central to Southern identity.

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  • Rhiannon looks at documents in Wilson Library's Southern Historical Collection.
  • Rhiannon leafing through the Samuel A. Agnew diaries in Wilson Library.
  • Rhiannon visiting Glenn Hinson's class 'By Persons Unknown: Race and Reckoning in North Carolina.'
  • Rhiannon leafing through the Samuel A. Agnew diaries in Wilson Library.

“What is special about this residency is that there are connections on multiple layers. I am a North Carolinian with personal and familial connections to this place. I am a musician who’s a researcher being given the resources of a a doctoral student. Its a unique and reciprocal opportunity – I am bringing a specific perspective and work ethic, and am meeting folks on campus with institutional knowledge, subject expertise, and technical know-how.  We’re all trying to figure out what exactly is happening [in the South]. It’s not a one way street. It’s a conversation. This research residency is a really innovative thing.”

Rhiannon Giddens
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N.C. Native History: from the Archives to the Stage

Rhiannon knew that she wanted to bring archival materials to the stage during her Southern Futures Research Residency culminating performance and expressed a desire for materials related to land and the on-going fight for Native sovereignty in North Carolina. Rhiannon and her research support team selected a collection of materials, including historic maps, images of N.C. Native quilting traditions, and Powwow ephemera, to present on stage as a background to the evening's artistry.

Explore the Archival Images and their Stories
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Rooted in Research

Rhiannon Giddens is conducting primary-source archival research for the first time as a part of her Southern Futures Research Residency with CPA. Much of Rhiannon's research is focused on interracial relationships around the Reconstruction Era in the United States. In October 2023, Rhiannon hosted a public conversation with Leoneda Inge, WUNC's Race and Southern Cultures Reporter, to share some of her findings from Wilson Library's collections.

Explore Rhiannon's Findings from the Archives
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Reflecting on my Conversation with Rhiannon Giddens

As part of Rhiannon's residency, the artist meets with faculty thought-partners across campus who serve as guides in her research journey. Jerma A. Jackson of Carolina's History Department met with Rhiannon early on in her residency, and the two shared a conversation about their mutual affinity for Black music and its histories.

Reflecting on my Conversation with Rhiannon Giddens
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Meet Rhiannon's Research Assistant

Rhiannon's research is supported by the careful curatorial eye of Callie Beattie, a third-year dual master's student in the Department of Art & Art History and the School of Information & Library Science. Callie has the challenging and rewarding job of downloading Rhiannon's interests and combing through Wilson Library's collections to find documents for the artist to review.

Hear from Rhiannon’s Research Assistant Callie
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Campus Thought Partners

During her visits to the Carolina campus, Rhiannon gains access to various resources, including a vibrant community of scholars with shared interests. These talented faculty members enrich her careful exploration of the University's libraries and archives.

Meet the People Across Campus who Join Forces with Rhiannon in a Dynamic Research Exchange.

Rhiannon on Campus and in the Archives

  • Professor Naomi Andre and Rhiannon.
  • Rhiannon discovers the Carolina Chocolate Drops in the Archives
  • Jesalyn Keziah, American Indian Center, and Rhiannon in conversation.
  • Rhiannon studies a facsimile of an ambrotype of Omar ibn Said in Wilson Library.
  • View of Rhiannon and Michael Abels in conversation with Naomi Andre at an Open Classroom in the Music Department.
  • Rhiannon conducting research in Wilson Library
  • Students from across the Triangle gather with Rhiannon after an Open Rehearsal of Omar.
  • Rhiannon and her research team learning about Wilson Library's Omar ibn Said materials.
  • Rhiannon shares her book, Build a House, at Epilogue Cafe

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